A space company that went public via SPAC merger completed a successful commercial orbital launch Friday, which has shares moving higher Monday morning. What Happened Astra Space completed its first commercial orbital launch Friday, a mission for the U.S. Space Force. “Reaching orbit is a historic milestone for Astra,” Astra CEO and Founder Chris Kemp said. “We can now focus on delivering for our customers and scaling up rocket production and launch cadence.” Astra became one of only four privately funded companies to reach orbit. The company also reached the feat faster than one of the largest space companies, SpaceX, the company founded by Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk. SpaceX became the first privately owned company to reach orbit with its rocket in 2008, around six years after forming. Astra Space was founded in 2016 and completed its milestone five years later. Astra reached space in December in a time …